Every once and awhile a memory sneaks out and fills your thoughts for no apparent reason. Nothing happened to jog that memory it just appears. That very thing happened to me yesterday in the way of a man. I knew him as Sprig Gardner. His full name was Frank " sprig " Gardner. I wasn't aware of it at the time but he is considered the father of wrestling on Long Island. I googled his name and was surprised to read of his many accomplishments. There is even a large tournament named for him. The article called him a legend ! Well, I just knew him as a kind man with a love of fishing and wrestling. I knew more about the fishing part though.
The years have dimmed some of the details but I can see the inside of his home. I can't remember exactly the road it was on but it was close to the bay. The house sat close to the road and the door entered the kitchen. The kitchen was long but narrow. Leaving the kitchen you entered the main room of the house. It may have been a camp originally I can't say for sure. There was a screened porch on the front side. As I remember there was one bedroom and a bath. Mr. Gardner, Sprig, as my Mom called him, was a confirmed bachelor. My Mom cleaned his house and washed his clothes when he was in town. The most striking feature of this home was the pictures on the walls. There was a least a hundred of them. There were all the same, black frame and a wrestling team in the photo. You know the type, those stock photographs. Sprig could tell you every name and face in those many pictures. Those wrestling teams were his passion. They were his legacy.
I, along with my brothers, would sometimes accompany my mother when she went to Mr. Gardners house to deliver his laundry. If he was there he would always speak to us children. All of us kids spent the night at Mr. Gardners house one time or another. He just loved kids and teaching. That was the thing with him, he taught you stuff while you were there. Being the youngest I didn't have many opportunities to " spend the night " but can remember doing so at least once. I remember Mr. Gardner teaching me to tie two pieces of monofilament fishing lines together with a special knot technique. I still use that knowledge to this day. He had a way of talking to you that made you want to listen. He was a man you could trust, without question. Today, sadly, we hear all too often about predators and such, but we didn't know anything about any of that. That thought never entered our consciousness. Mr. Gardner was just that, Mr. Gardner a man of obvious success and great wisdom. He was, after all, a teacher. All I knew was that he taught at a school " up the Island " a big school. I do remember him bringing my brothers and myself some sporting goods. A " real official " football, like they used in college ! A first baseman's glove, a catchers glove and a fielders glove. I remember Mr. Gardner saying, just like any other job, you need the correct tool to do the job correctly. And you needed to practice, always practice.
It was a good time to be a boy in the 1960's. It was even better because of where I lived. We had free roam of the town and the surrounding woods, bays and ocean. Yes you could say we were a bit isolated from the " real " world but I don't think of it that way. I lived where the world was the way it was supposed to be. Those that lived elsewhere were deprived. That other world was a scary place that was best avoided. I read magazines like Boys' Life and Popular Mechanics. Mr. Gardner took me bass fishing on the bay and showed me how to use a " spinning reel " rig. A fairly new innovation. Well at least they gained in popularity after the war, (WW2 ) and was a new thing to me. And so I owe my ability to cast a line to Frank " sprig " Gardner of wrestling fame. He told me of being in the " war. " He was a Lt. He passed away in 1975 at home in East Hampton. I expect it was that same little cabin that I remember. I wonder what caused that memory to surface at this time. No matter, as long as he is remembered that is what is of importance. I'm certain as long as there is high school wrestling his name will be mentioned. Wonder where all those pictures went ? I hope they were saved somewhere by someone.
The years have dimmed some of the details but I can see the inside of his home. I can't remember exactly the road it was on but it was close to the bay. The house sat close to the road and the door entered the kitchen. The kitchen was long but narrow. Leaving the kitchen you entered the main room of the house. It may have been a camp originally I can't say for sure. There was a screened porch on the front side. As I remember there was one bedroom and a bath. Mr. Gardner, Sprig, as my Mom called him, was a confirmed bachelor. My Mom cleaned his house and washed his clothes when he was in town. The most striking feature of this home was the pictures on the walls. There was a least a hundred of them. There were all the same, black frame and a wrestling team in the photo. You know the type, those stock photographs. Sprig could tell you every name and face in those many pictures. Those wrestling teams were his passion. They were his legacy.
I, along with my brothers, would sometimes accompany my mother when she went to Mr. Gardners house to deliver his laundry. If he was there he would always speak to us children. All of us kids spent the night at Mr. Gardners house one time or another. He just loved kids and teaching. That was the thing with him, he taught you stuff while you were there. Being the youngest I didn't have many opportunities to " spend the night " but can remember doing so at least once. I remember Mr. Gardner teaching me to tie two pieces of monofilament fishing lines together with a special knot technique. I still use that knowledge to this day. He had a way of talking to you that made you want to listen. He was a man you could trust, without question. Today, sadly, we hear all too often about predators and such, but we didn't know anything about any of that. That thought never entered our consciousness. Mr. Gardner was just that, Mr. Gardner a man of obvious success and great wisdom. He was, after all, a teacher. All I knew was that he taught at a school " up the Island " a big school. I do remember him bringing my brothers and myself some sporting goods. A " real official " football, like they used in college ! A first baseman's glove, a catchers glove and a fielders glove. I remember Mr. Gardner saying, just like any other job, you need the correct tool to do the job correctly. And you needed to practice, always practice.
It was a good time to be a boy in the 1960's. It was even better because of where I lived. We had free roam of the town and the surrounding woods, bays and ocean. Yes you could say we were a bit isolated from the " real " world but I don't think of it that way. I lived where the world was the way it was supposed to be. Those that lived elsewhere were deprived. That other world was a scary place that was best avoided. I read magazines like Boys' Life and Popular Mechanics. Mr. Gardner took me bass fishing on the bay and showed me how to use a " spinning reel " rig. A fairly new innovation. Well at least they gained in popularity after the war, (WW2 ) and was a new thing to me. And so I owe my ability to cast a line to Frank " sprig " Gardner of wrestling fame. He told me of being in the " war. " He was a Lt. He passed away in 1975 at home in East Hampton. I expect it was that same little cabin that I remember. I wonder what caused that memory to surface at this time. No matter, as long as he is remembered that is what is of importance. I'm certain as long as there is high school wrestling his name will be mentioned. Wonder where all those pictures went ? I hope they were saved somewhere by someone.
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Frank " Sprig " Gardner
I called him a friend
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